Editing Gender role (section)

===In marriage===
[[File:Weekly hours dedicated to home production in US, by gender, OWID.svg|thumb|300px|Weekly hours dedicated to home production in US, by gender]]
[[File:Hours per week spent on child care, United States, OWID.svg|thumb|300px|Hours per week spent on child care, United States]]
The institution of marriage influences gender roles, inequality, and change.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=C. |year=2012 |title=Introduction: Marriage, gender relations and social change |journal=[[Journal of Development Studies]] |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1080/00220388.2011.629653 |s2cid=144978684}}</ref> In the United States, gender roles are communicated by the media, social interaction, and language. Through these platforms society has influenced individuals to fulfill from a young age the stereotypical gender roles in a heterosexual marriage. Roles traditionally distributed according to biological sex are increasingly negotiated by spouses on an equal footing.

In the U.S., marriage roles are generally decided based on gender. For approximately the past seven decades{{When|date=October 2024|reason=Seven decades after what time? '40s? '50s?}}, heterosexual marriage roles have been defined for men and women based on society's expectations and [[Media and gender|the influence of the media]].<ref name=":1">Gauntlett, D. (2008). ''Media, gender and identity: An introduction''. Routledge.</ref> Men and women are typically associated with certain social roles, dependent upon the personality traits associated with those roles.<ref name="Gerber, G. L. 1988">{{cite journal |last1=Gerber |first1=G. L. |year=1988 |title=Leadership roles and the gender stereotype traits |doi=10.1007/BF00288051 |journal=Sex Roles |volume=18 |issue=11–12 |pages=649–668 |s2cid=143607687}}</ref> Traditionally, the role of the homemaker is associated with a woman and the role of a breadwinner is associated with a male.<ref name="Gerber, G. L. 1988"/>

In the U.S., single men are outnumbered by single women at a ratio of 100 single women to 86 single men,<ref>{{cite news |last=Pritchard |first=Justin |title=Men hold the edge on gender gap odds |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-6970963.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510202548/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-6970963.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 May 2013 |newspaper=[[Oakland Tribune]] |date=21 October 2003}}</ref> though never-married men over the age of 15 outnumber women by a 5:4 ratio (33.9% to 27.3%) according to the 2006 U.S. Census American Community Survey. The results are varied between age groups, with 118 single men per 100 single women in their 20s, versus 33 single men to 100 single women over 65.<ref>Facts for features: Valentine's Day U.S. Census Bureau Report 7 February 2006</ref>

The numbers also vary between countries. For example, China has many more young men than young women, and this disparity is expected to increase.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McCurry |first1=Justin |last2=Allison |first2=Rebecca |date=8 March 2004 |title=40m bachelors and no women. the birth of a new problem for China |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/09/china.justinmccurry |url-access=registration}}</ref> In regions with recent conflict, such as Chechnya, women greatly outnumber men.<ref>{{cite news |title=Polygamy proposal for Chechen men |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4610396.stm |newspaper=[[BBC News]] |date=13 January 2006}}</ref>

In a cross-cultural study by [[David Buss]], men and women were asked to rank the importance of certain traits in a long-term partner. Both men and women ranked "kindness" and "intelligence" as the two most important factors. Men valued beauty and youth more highly than women, while women valued financial and social status more highly than men.

Gendered roles in heterosexual marriages are learned through imitation. People learn what society views as appropriate gender behaviors from imitating the repetition of actions by one's role-model or parent of the same biological sex.<ref name=":2" /> Imitation in the physical world that impacts one's gendered roles often comes from role-modeling parents, peers, teachers, and other significant figures in one's life. In a marriage, oftentimes each person's gendered roles are determined by his or her parents. If the wife grew up imitating the actions of traditional parents, and the husband non-traditional parents, their views on marital roles would be different.<ref name=":2" /> One way people can acquire these stereotypical roles through a reward and punishment system. When a little girl imitates her mother by performing the traditional domestic duties she is often rewarded by being told she is doing a good job. Nontraditionally, if a little boy was performing the same tasks he would more likely be punished due to acting feminine.<ref name=":2" /> Because society holds these expected roles for men and women within a marriage, it creates a mold for children to follow.<ref>Lindsey, L. L. (2015). ''Gender roles: A sociological perspective''. Routledge.</ref>

====Changing gender roles in marriage====
Over the years, gender roles have continued to change and have a significant impact on the institution of marriage.<ref name=":0"/> Traditionally, men and women had completely opposing roles, men were seen as the provider for the family and women were seen as the caretakers of both the home and the family.<ref name=":0"/> However, in today's society the division of roles is starting to blur. More and more individuals are adapting non-traditional gender roles into their marriages in order to share responsibilities. This view on gender roles seeks out equality between sexes. In today's society, it is more likely that a husband and wife are both providers for their family. More and more women are entering the workforce while more men are contributing to household duties.<ref name=":0"/>

After around the year 1980, divorce rates in the United States stabilized.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Greenstein |first1=Theodore N. |year=1995 |title=Gender Ideology, Marital Disruption, and the Employment of Married Women |journal=[[Journal of Marriage and Family]] |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=31–42 |doi=10.2307/353814 |jstor=353814}}</ref> Scholars in the area of sociology explain that this stabilization was due to several factors including, but not limited to, the shift in gender roles. The attitude concerning the shift in gender roles can be classified into two perspectives: traditional and egalitarian. Traditional attitudes uphold designated responsibilities for the sexes – wives raise the children and keep the home nice, and husbands are the breadwinners. Egalitarian attitudes uphold responsibilities being carried out equally by both sexes – wives and husbands are both breadwinners and they both take part in raising the children and keeping the home nice.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lucier-Greer | first1 = M. | last2 = Adler-Baeder | first2 = F. | year = 2016 | title = Gender role attitude malleability in the context of divorce and remarriage: A longitudinal growth curve perspective | journal = Journal of Adult Development | volume = 23 | issue = 3| pages = 150–162 | doi = 10.1007/s10804-016-9231-z | s2cid = 146939829 }}</ref> Over the past 40 years, attitudes in marriages have become more egalitarian.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Davis | first1 = Shannon N | last2 = Greenstein | first2 = Theodore N | year = 2004| title = Interactive Effects of Gender Ideology and Age at First Marriage on Women's Marital Disruption | url = https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-family-issues_2004-07_25_5/page/658 | journal = Journal of Family Issues | volume = 25 | issue = 5| pages = 658–682 | doi = 10.1177/0192513x03257795 | s2cid = 6912666 }}</ref> Two studies carried out in the early 2000s have shown strong correlation between egalitarian attitudes and happiness and satisfaction in marriage, which scholars believe lead to stabilization in divorce rates. The results of a 2006 study performed by Gayle Kaufman, a professor of sociology, indicated that those who hold egalitarian attitudes report significantly higher levels of marital happiness than those with more traditional attitudes.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Kaufman | first1 = G. | last2 = Taniguchi | first2 = H. | year = 2006 | title = Gender and marital happiness in later life | journal = Journal of Family Issues | volume = 27 | issue = 6| pages = 735–757 | doi = 10.1177/0192513x05285293 | s2cid = 146362115 }}</ref> Another study executed by Will Marshall in 2008 had results showing that relationships with better quality involve people with more egalitarian beliefs.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Perry | first1 = Samuel L | last2 = Whitehead | first2 = Andrew L | year = 2016| title = For Better or for Worse? Gender Ideology, Religious Commitment, and Relationship Quality | journal = Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | volume = 55 | issue = 4| pages = 737–755 | doi = 10.1111/jssr.12308 }}</ref> It has been assumed by Danielle J. Lindemann, a sociologist who studies gender, sexuality, the family, and culture, that the shift in gender roles and egalitarian attitudes have resulted in marriage stability due to tasks being carried out by both partners, such as working late-nights and picking up ill children from school.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lindemann |first1=D. |year=2018 |title=Doing and undoing gender in commuter marriages |journal=Sex Roles |volume=79 |issue=1–2 |pages=36–49 |doi=10.1007/s11199-017-0852-x |s2cid=149096803}}</ref> Although the gap in gender roles still exists, roles have become less gendered and more equal in marriages compared to how they were traditionally.